AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

AFC North offensive coordinator rankings

December, 8, 2010
By James Walker

1. Cam Cameron, Baltimore Ravens

Analysis: Cameron is getting heat again in Baltimore. But by a significant margin, the Ravens have the highest-ranked offense in the division and are No. 14 overall in the NFL. The next closest team is the Steelers, who are No. 21. But there were increased expectations for Baltimore's offense that haven't been met so far. The Ravens have the talent to be a top-10 offense, but inconsistency has plagued this group. There are weeks Baltimore is capable of scoring 37 points and other weeks it only scores 10 points. There seems to be frustration in the locker room developing from the offense's lack of production, which is why Baltimore needs to continue to win games to keep everyone happy.

Analysis: Arians also gets a lot of heat in Pittsburgh, but he's doing enough to win games. The Steelers are 9-3 and in control of the AFC North, in part, due to some timely scores by Arians' offense, particularly in the fourth quarters and in overtime. Pittsburgh's No. 21 ranking is a bit deceiving because the offense didn't get many yards in the first month of the season without franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was suspended. Despite plenty of injuries on the offensive line, the Steelers are No. 10 in rushing at 120 yards per game.

3. Bob Bratkowski, Cincinnati Bengals

Analysis: Bratkowski is out of the basement of our offensive coordinator rankings, as his No. 22-ranked offense has been able to score in recent weeks. Although it hasn't translated to victories, the Bengals have scored 30 or more points in two of the past three games, which is a feat no other AFC North team has accomplished. Still, this offense has virtually ignored the running game all season and could use more creativity to create mismatches. Even receiver Terrell Owens ripped the play calling after the loss to the New Orleans Saints.

4. Brian Daboll, Cleveland Browns

Analysis: The Browns are No. 27 in total offense and would be nowhere this year without the running game led by tailback Peyton Hillis. But when teams gear up to stop Hillis, Daboll seems to have trouble making the proper adjustments. Cleveland's offense does have some imagination at times and is 4-2 in its last six games despite a revolving door at quarterback. But there are no excuses for the amount of times the Browns have been shut down in long stretches of games this season. Cleveland's defense also is forcing turnovers and doing all it can to give the offense a short field, and too often Daboll's group can't do anything with it. There's also some blame on the coaching staff for failing to develop receivers and second-round draft picks Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi this year. Both have been major disappointments in their second year.

Re: AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

Analysis: Arians also gets a lot of heat in Pittsburgh, but he's doing enough to win games. The Steelers are 9-3 and in control of the AFC North, in part, due to some timely scores by Arians' offense, particularly in the fourth quarters and in overtime. Pittsburgh's No. 21 ranking is a bit deceiving because the offense didn't get many yards in the first month of the season without franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was suspended. Despite plenty of injuries on the offensive line, the Steelers are No. 10 in rushing at 120 yards per game.

And why is that? That is when the game is turned over to Ben and Arians is taken out of the picture.

Re: AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

on the play that Troy stripped Flacco, I was really surprised that Cameron called for a pass in that situation. it was 2nd and 5, why not run and take more time off the clock and not risk the turnover?

Re: AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

The reason no huddle works better sometimes is because the defense has a harder time adjusting and making substitutions. It's still Arians plays and Ben has the option to audible either way.

Yes?

No?

Maybe?

But the bottom line is that it works better so why don't we use it till they stop it? I happen to believe it works better because Ben is calling it based on what he sees on the field as opposed to BA calling it based on his clipboard!

Re: AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

I know rankings don't mean it comes from God but, I would like to see where Arians would rank against the entire NFL. Also, stats never tell the whole truth and I actually believe he is worse than the stats show.
When it comes to Arians rank, he sure is.

Re: AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

I know rankings don't mean it comes from God but, I would like to see where Arians would rank against the entire NFL. Also, stats never tell the whole truth and I actually believe he is worse than the stats show.
When it comes to Arians rank, he sure is.

But the bottom line is that it works better so why don't we use it till they stop it? I happen to believe it works better because Ben is calling it based on what he sees on the field as opposed to BA calling it based on his clipboard!

It's a pretty basic set of plays they could possibly expose so much that they have to start from scratch with the play selection. You have to use it sparingly for it to be effective IMO.

Re: AFC North Offensive Coordinator Rankings

I know rankings don't mean it comes from God but, I would like to see where Arians would rank against the entire NFL. Also, stats never tell the whole truth and I actually believe he is worse than the stats show.
When it comes to Arians rank, he sure is.

Kinda makes ya sick to wonder what could have been huh? With this D and this offensive talent?

Five days after one catastrophic play turned a big game, Cam Cameron vowed that it would not be the lethal blow that turns the Ravens' season.

The Ravens offensive coordinator arrived at his weekly media session Friday with the look of a man who already had a long week and was eager at last to put this dark episode behind him.

The sack and fumble that Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu created Sunday night with an uninhibited rush from Joe Flacco's blind side? Cameron accepted full responsibility and said the mistake has been corrected.

"You're looking at the guy responsible," Cameron said. "There was a flaw in that protection. We don't have a protection where [No.] 43 [Polamalu] comes unblocked. We don't have a run play where 43 comes unblocked in that game. There are some cases where guys can be unblocked -- [but] not him.

"There was a flaw there that I did not catch for some reason. In 25-plus years, I have never seen that happen, and it showed up at the worst possible time it could have, and it's my job to catch that flaw. That flaw has been corrected. … Next time you see a guy unblocked in that protection, it'll be where the quarterback's expecting it to be unblocked."

Polamalu's turnover, with three minutes left, enabled the Steelers to pull out a 13-10 win and take control of the AFC North at 9-3, while the Ravens fell to second place at 8-4. The repercussions were immediate and devastating, but Cameron assured they would not be "fatal."

"You're in this business long enough, you're going to get hit in the teeth every now and then," he said. "You look it dead in the eye and you get it fixed. I think the important thing to know is that wasn't a fatal blow to this team. I'm not going to let it be a fatal blow for this offense. It ain't going to happen, not as long as I'm here."

The Ravens are only 2-2 in their last four games, in part because the offense hasn't run the ball well and hasn't been able to protect the quarterback. Flacco has been sacked 11 times in the past three games, 17 in the last five. The Ravens rushed for a season-low 43 yards Sunday.

Cameron's answer to those issues is to scale back his playbook and reduce schemes. It is a progression that usually takes place at this time of the season, he said. But to the bigger issue of an inconsistent offense, Cameron said the solution is simply better execution -- by the players and the coaches.

And if a reduced scheme makes the Ravens more predictable, so be it.

"The old [labels of] conservative, predictable … I don't worry about that because I understand, and I think our players and our coaches definitely understand the simplest, most predictable play executed looks unpredictable and imaginative," he said.

Cameron also defended his pass call on second-and-5 at the Baltimore 43 on the decisive play Sunday.

"Sounds like they were expecting run there," he said. "Next thing you know -- all of a sudden you execute it -- and the game is over potentially. So it's about execution, and that's the thing we have to remember," he said.

"The confidence I have, starting with Joe, all the way through this offense, ain't changing. You can look at it however you want to look at it. When we come off that field, we're going to give our players a chance to have won the game for us, and I trust these guys. It didn't work out the other night, but it's going to work out a lot more than it isn't."